Sibneft-Noyabrskneftegaz, now a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft after the renaming of Sibneft Oil Company earlier this year, is one of Russia's largest natural gas producers, operating at 20 gas fields in the Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Districts in Siberia.
"The prosecutor's office of Noyabrsk in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District has opened three criminal cases against the open joint stock company Sibneft-Noyabrskneftegaz for violations of licensing demands and terms of hydrocarbon production [at seven gas deposits]," the Prosecutor General's Office said.
It also said the company's profits from excessive gas production totaled more than 20 billion rubles ($745 million).
Millhouse Capital, the investment vehicle of Russian tycoon and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, sold a 72.6% stake in Sibneft to gas giant Gazprom for $13.1 billion last September. The company was renamed Gazprom Neft in May.
